Black as tar
by Soloing through life
Summary: When Atlas gives Beacon a criminal to make in to a model citizen, a lot of ideology and morals clash. How can a person mistreated his whole life understand the thoughts of someone concidered normal? Drama, hurt/Comfort, friendship, adventure and possible Romance.
1. Prologue - Old friends

**First fanfic in a long time. All critique and comments welcome.**

**Single OC, no cross overs, for slightly more mature audiences.**

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><p><strong>Prologue - Old friends<strong>

Time: [3:37 AM]  
>Location: [City of Vale, Beacon Academy, Headmaster's Office]<p>

Headmaster Ozpin was sitting behind his desk, glancing through a hefty folder of documents. The documents were handed to him by James Ironwood, who was standing before him with a coffee mug in his hand.

The general had arrived early and covert with just a few guards and had requested a private meeting between the headmasters and old friends. After very minimal greetings he had asked the headmaster of beacon to read the contents of the file. After a solid ten minutes of reading, Ozpin had grasped the reason of this late, or, depending on the view, early, visit.

"So, in summary, James, you want me to take a dangerous individual captured by Atlas' military black ops team..."

"To be correct, it is not a black ops team, but rather a group of highly talented individuals selected from the ranks of Atlas..." Ironwood started to explain with a proud smile, but was cut by Ozpin's cold, albeit tired, stare. His smile disappeared as he coughed and reached inside his white overcoat, but stopped in his tracks. Remembering it was nearly morning and that the flight back to Atlas would take some time, he decided to drink his coffee black for once. "Please continue." , Ironwood said, swirling his coffee around, a moot effort.

"...and rehabilitate him by introducing the responsibilities, strict rules and the normal school life of a young adult. Among my students in beacon."

"That is correct." The general agreed without any visible emotion on his face.

Ozpin dropped the file he was going through onto the table, got up and walked to his mug on the corner of the desk and took it up. The mug was brought up and moved around under his nose in an attempt to revive his dulled senses. "And this cannot be done in your academy because...?"

"Because of reasons that I cannot disclose. Let's just say that distance and a new environment should probably help with the rehabilitation." Ironwood said with a small and tight smile.

Ozpin tasted his coffee and waited to think for a bit. "I see. Do you think he can be rehabilitated, that this Mister..." Ozpin walked back to his desk to spot a name from the document to the subject of this conversation. " ...Weltraum Schwarz, can truly become of use to us against the Grimm?"

"He is young and has no beliefs behind his actions. No greater purposes, religions or other affiliations that might have filled his mind. If we play our cards right, we'll get a powerful weapon."

"And you think he is an asset. Not a person for whom we need to go through all this trouble?"

Ironwood put his mug down on to the table. "I am asking this not as a general or a headmaster, but as a friend Oz. I have my reasons to ask this, but please do not..." He started to insist, but was again cut off.

"James, young criminals as a gift are almost as bad as puppies. They require responsibility and vigilance, and the whole thing might go bad if the recipient can't rise to the occasion." Ozpin turned his back to Ironwood and took another sip of his coffee. After a small silence that seemed to last forever, just as Ironwood opened his mouth to voice a question, Ozpin continued. "Fortunately I can." He said reassuringly. "I will take him off your hands. He is in one of your airships I assume?"

"Not quite." Ironwood said turning around and signalling to his guards at the door with his hand. "Bring him in."

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><p><strong>Please do comment as it helps me grow as a writer. <strong>**All critique and comments welcome.**


	2. Chapter 1 - The trio

**I decided to change the OC characters name, because after staring it for a good 30 minutes I learnerd to hate it. So now he has a bit better name. Hopefully.**

**Keep the comments coming!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 - The Trio<strong>

Time: [3:42 PM]

Location: [City of Vale, Beacon Academy, Grimm studies class]

"...And then I grabbed the grimm before me by its neck and sent it TUMBLING down the hill..." Professor port illustrated this with hand gestures. "The pack was wary of me because the alpha male had been defeated so easily, and they knew it would take precaution to take me down. Then I..." He narrated in his signature way.

Ruby shifted in her seat. The never ending stories of professor Port were once again lulling her into sweet sleep. She didn't exactly need it, but gladly accepted instead of the boring tales of old. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she felt a poke to her side. She turned her head only to see her sister Yang poking her cheek and pointing his thumb to the back corner of the lecture hall. "It's been bugging me the entire day." She whispered looking puzzled.

The sleepyhead moved slowly her eyes and saw what Yang meant. In the corner, a lone male student with short black hair and slim glasses was sitting and taking up notes. Instead of the standard Beacon academy uniform, he had a white blouse with a red tie under a grey sweater with the sleeves pulled up and a pair of wrinkly deep black cargo pants.

The thing that had caught Yang's attention and many others was not him or his attire, but the two huntsman at this youngsters side. The taller one, Rust, was wearing a worn down light brown overcoat and under it a deep blue uniform, that was pulled taut across his well built body. His hair was short, clean, combed back and brown with a hint of red. The other at the same time, looked less impressive. His body looked more lean, even scrawny. He was wearing a faded blood red mantle, with it's hood covering his face. It was tightened around his waist with a wide black belt, covered in pouches. Under the mantle, was a skin tight dark black turtle neck and a pair of ripped, slightly darker black pants. They stood on either side of the young man, alert and ready.

Huntsmen Rust and Vermillion were famous at Beacon for being capable on the field, so it was odd seeing them serving as what seemed to be bodyguards. They had been accompanying him the whole day and it seemed like they wanted nothing to do with other students. In the first class of the morning, star struck students, who wanted to chat with such decorated huntsmen, were immediately turned away with a stern look and a few spare words. The classes after that had been more tense than anything. No teacher had given any explanation or even paid any attention to the trio, so every class had been full of whispering and rumours. This class was no exception.

"Maybe he's an exchange student." Ruby whispered hoping it would satisfy Yang's interest and allow her to continue sleeping.

"Who has guards with him." Yang retorted.

"An important exchange student?" She continued unsure, knowing the resting of her eyes would need to wait.

"Still, are guards really needed inside Beacon?" The blonde asked wondering. "You'd think everyone here knows how to take care of himself."

Weiss appeared behind Yang talking softly, yet you could hear the agitation in her voice. "If you are whispering about the wonder boy there, I agree. Who needs guards at Beacon? Even I do not require guards and if the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company does not need guards, no one does." She exclaimed quietly.

"Are... you jealous of his guards?" Yang smirked.

"Of course not! But why does he have some special right...!" Weiss' irritation had begun to affect her volume and it had been noticed by the professor.

"Miss Schnee do you have a question regarding the subject?" Professor Port asked under his magnificent grey moustache.

"Umm... no." Weiss turned and stuttered. " But I do have a question, regarding our new attendee at the back." She continued with regained confidence, while setting her sights at the young man.

Blake, who had been quiet during this time, lifted her eyes from her book, which she had been reading during class. "He's not bothering anyone. Maybe we shouldn't bother him."

"Merely asking to introduce himself to relieve our curiosity, shouldn't be too much of a bother. Right professor?" Weiss said while she folded her arms across her chest.

Professor Port went silent and looked deeply in thought. He walked from left to right, while he shared looks with the huntsmen at the back. Suddenly the subject of this debate, stood up. The closer huntsman, Rust, stepped in and put his hand to the young man's shoulder, in an attempt to sit him down. Everyone in the room went silent and the already tense atmosphere intensified. Rust met eyes with the Professor, who began to speak.

"I guess it's only natural for someone young, such as yourself, to feel intrigued about the mysteries around you. And since there has been a lot of whispering today, it seems it's not limited just to you, Miss Schnee. It also seems that our guest is willing to speak, so let him."

Rust and Vermillion exchanged looks and seemed to have a silent conversation. Rust took his hand off, moving back to the very spot he had been previously. Everyone's eyes shifted to the now standing young man. The anticipation was immense and the class room was so silent, a dropping hair would seem like a roar of thunder. Or so it seemed for him. He had gotten tired to the secretive attendance of classes and to the whispers and looks of the other students. Though, he did not consider himself a student, but more like a prisoner, with slightly more freedom. He scanned the room, looking at the people he was surrounded with. Beacon academy first year students, ages ranging below his own. He felt like he was surrounded by mere naive children. But he did not let it show, he forced his feeling of disdain away. He had promised to behave to Ozpin and he was not willing to lose the few rights, he had been granted. He shifted his hands behind him, as started to speak.

"My name is Weltraum." He paused. "Weltraum Schwarz. I moved from Atlas to Beacon, from the request of my uncle. My uncle is an important political figure and wanted me to have the best training in all of Remnant. So here I am. He is also overly protective of me and had requested for me to have bodyguards at all times," He turned to look at both of the huntsman and continued. "...which I find to be totally unnecessary."

"I told you so." The red one told. "Shhh!" The white one sounded.

Technically it was not a lie. He was indeed sent from Atlas and most probably by the orders of his uncle. He considered sitting down and continuing the class, but instead continued and asked; "Any questions?" The whispering came back, with double the intensity.

"Ask if we can get autographs from Rust."

"No, you ask."

"Ask if he's single"

"How old he is? He looks older than most of us."

He took his tie between his index finger and thumb of right hand, pulled down on it with his left and tightened it, in an attempt to calm his nerves. In the wave of whispers in the class room, all he could hear was trivial and childish questions. He felt that the deal with Ozpin might be impossible for him, but tried to ignore the feeling. He checked the clock. 3:55 PM. The first day, that had felt like hell, was soon going to be over.

"Ruby... RUBY!" Jaune whispered from behind her not so subtly. "I heard that he can shoot lasers from his eyes. What if it's true?"

Ruby turned around to shake her head and chuckled. "Well, I don't think even Atlas has that kind of technology."

"But laser eyes. How cool would that be?" The short haired blonde whispered enthusiastically, with a sparkle in his blue eyes.

The class gossiped, but it seemed that no one actually had the courage to ask anything. He sighed in relief and was just about sit down, but the hand of a pretty blonde rose.

"Can you really shoot lasers from..." Jaune tried to ask awkwardly after letting his hand down, but was abruptly interrupted by Yang.

"Can you fight?" She questioned. "All that talk about being important doesn't matter if you can't fight." She said with an innocent face.

He stared at her for a second, then answered in a way, that was filled to the brim with confidence; "Yes. Yes I can." And proceeded to sit down.

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><p><strong>Hate this? Like that? Leave a comment and tell me what you think! Reviews are welcome!<strong>


	3. Chapter 2 - Breakfast club

**A bit exposition heavy chapter but bear with me. Trying to publish a chapter weekly but might not be possible because of school. Thank you for reading.**

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><p>Chapter 2 - Breakfast club<p>

Time: [7.19: AM]  
>Location: [City of Vale, Beacon Academy, Dining hall]<p>

Rumours about the new student had exploded over the night, for it had been a while since anything noteworthy had happened in the academy. Everyone had been head over heels for the rumour, that a person from such distinguished family had started to attend Beacon. What made it more believable, was that many had been seen this person walking around with two bodyguards, during these few days he had been here. While the name Schwarz might not have been recognised by many, but the word had gotten around that the exchange student had bragged about his combat skills. Many people did not like this supposed arrogance, as it was seen by many as hostility against the academy itself.

Team RWBY had arrived to breakfast early to meet with team JNPR and were almost done eating.

"Nora, stop bombarding other tables with peas."

"The kingdom of cucumber will not sign a peace treaty with us. All we demand is their dessert." She pointed to the table she had barraged. A girl dressed in green looked distressed in a table next to theirs, protecting her head with her hand.

"I will give you mine."

"Ren." She said with awe. "I did not know you had interest in international politics." She then proceeded to take his cup of pudding.

"So, let's summarize, what we know about him, Ruby?"

"Every day he arrives to breakfast at 7.25 AM. He then proceeds to all the days classes. He spends his time between classes to migrate to next class and to read his scroll. What he reads is currently unknown. He usually eats lunch quickly and then moves to class as per previous statement. Also in class, he takes notes." She said systematically.

Jaune looked to be in thought. "I wonder what he is writing every day."

"Jaune, maybe he's just following the teacher and studying." Pyrrha said.

"But, he was writing even during professor Ports lectures. Nobody does that. Next, Weiss?"

"I don't know how you got me to help you." She exclaimed irritated but continued. "After classes, he comes here to eat dinner and then moves to his room which for some reason is next only to few empty rooms, away from any other teams' room."

"Room away from the rest of us. Interesting." Jaune wrote the facts down, repeating the words as he went. "What does he have to hide?"

"probably his privacy, as he doesn't seem to have any. Are you really sure stalking him, instead of asking him is the correct way to do this? It just doesn't seem right" Blake contributed.

"Blake, I understand your concern, but the people have the right to know the truth."

The black eared faunus rolled his eyes. "For the last time, he doesn't have laser eyes." She exclaimed.

"That's what he wants you to think, a true huntsman is always prepared. Yang, please continue."

"A little fun never hurt anyone Blake, besides, it's nice to have something to do around here, since we got banned from playing board games in the library, because of someone..." She turned to stare at Weiss.

Weiss wiggled in her seat a bit and then responded. "W...Well the air cavalry's ability to go over strongholds walls is ridiculous!" A deep red spread over her face, as she turned to look away.

Yang turned back to face Jaune and Ruby and continued. "He is guarded around the clock by Vermillion and Rust, one usually inside his room and other out in front of his door. On a side note, Rust is really observant, he caught me one night and scolded me for being still awake." She brushed off the embarrassment. "He rarely leaves his room outside classes, but if he does, it's either to visit the library or to visit Mr. Ozpin. He also has minimal contact with other students in class and outside of it."

"That is a lot of information, but as of yet nothing seems to indicate a set of laser eyes." The golden haired boy said with a frown on his face.

Pyrrha sighed. "If you would put this amount of effort in to your tests, you would do much better Jaune."

"He's here." Pointed Ruby visibly excited .

"Everyone, battle stations." Jaune said with a stern look.

Weltraum walked to an empty table and sat down. His entourage followed his lead , one next to him and one at the opposite side of the table. All three began to eat and even though it has been almost a week, since they had been following his every move and action, they showed no intent to lower their guard around him. They had spend the minimum time talking, He knew their names, Rust and Vermillion, but all other knowledge he got off the student net on his scroll.

He was exhausted, not because the school life had been that hard but because of the sleeping arrangements. Every night one of the huntsmen stood outside the door while the second slept in a bunk across his. They changed shifts randomly at night. Especially jarring was that during the first night, Vermillion had began speaking right before he had fallen asleep; "If you try anything, we will deal with you accordingly. Understood?" He had pretended to be asleep, but the tension of the situation made it near impossible.

Weltraum was the last to finish his breakfast out of the three. "I read your file." Rust suddenly said across the table, catching him off guard. They had spoken to him the minimum amount possible, only laying the ground rules. He did not expect them to chat him up. "Your parents died when you were eight. You were taken in by your fathers brother, but you ran away from him when you were 15. From that onwards you worked as a body guard and as a soldier of fortune, until you were captured in Atlas. " Rust assessed the impact his words had made. "Please do correct, if necessary." He smiled warmly, which made Weltraum feel uneasy, he was one of the few people to act nice to him in Beacon.

"That sounds about right, except I didn't work just as a mercenary, but those kind of jobs paid the most."

"Who trained you?"

"You've read my file, you know already"

"Yes, but I'd like you to tell me more."

"Fine." Weltraum said, knowing he would have to talk to them at one point anyway. "I learned by watching my father when I was younger and later I was taught by my uncle."

"Your style is two handed, but I heard that your uncle is legendary for his one handed style. Is it because of you honour your late father or because you despise your uncle?"

The young man groomed his black hair visibly annoyed. "Is this another interrogation, because it's starting to feel like it."

Rust lifted his hands up as a sign of letting go of the subject. Weltraum relaxed and glanced Vermillion, who had kept silent the whole discussion. He prepared to stand up and leave for class.

"I totally understand why you ran from him, from your uncle." Rust started again.

"Oh really?" Weltraum cracked a faint smile and sat down. "Do tell."

" I realise the pressure that was on you. To become what he wanted. Behave, listen, learn. He wanted you to become his heir so soon after what happened to your parents. No child is able to just forget everything and keep on living like nothing happened."

Weltraum cringed inside, he had heard all of this many times before.

"You didn't want to be a politician, you wanted to be free, a warrior, a huntsman such as your father. So you ran. It's a story all too common."

"Did you find all of that from my file?"

"No, but most of it and Vermy here dug out the rest."

"I've asked you to stop using that nickname" Vermillion shuddered.

"Vermy here thinks using nicknames desecrates the professional aspect of working with people, while I'd rather use names I can remember."

"I'd rather not get attached to people, since especially in this line of work, the people are prone to change." Vermillion pointed out.

"You mean die?" Weltraum said.

"You would know about that Schwarz, wouldn't you." Vermillion leaned in closer, hissing the words out of his mouth.

"Vermy, behave."

"Remember this, we are here to protect others from you. You do anything, that we consider to be a threat to others, we will take you down. With any means necessary." Vermillion said, viciously emphasizing the last part.

"Vermy!" Rust commanded to calm his partner down. Vermillion leaned back and fell silent while the students in the nearest tables turned to stare. Rust glanced at them and sighed. "Forgive my partner, even though he seems strong and aloof, he does care about people. You see, we used to have a team. Team NRVN or Nirvana. Vermy and I were both in it." Rust said serious.

Weltraum decide to pay back from before, by making up a story of his own. "My time tell stories about you guys. Long time ago when you were younger, your team had a mission. On that mission you lost your team mates and maybe other teams. This left you devastated. And now you fear for the loss of other people close to you. Now that's sweet of you." He grinned condescendingly.

Rust was not in the mood for playing and continued calmly. "Two years ago our team was split up. We..." Rust pointed him and Vermillion. "...were helping another team shadowing a member of an underground grimm fighting tournament. Our team leader Erythro however had gotten a tip about a crime lord..."

Weltraum had a weird feeling in the back of his head. The name Erythro seemed familiar but he could not remember where he knew it.

"...and had headed up north to pursue it with our team mate Noire. When the news of what had happened reached us, it was too late. We had no idea what happened. What we knew, was that, we had to bury two of our team mates and best friends."

He listened carefully, while at the same time tried to remember where he knew the name. It felt it was so far, yet so close. . He just could not grasp it, it felt like the memory had no corporeal form to grab hold of.

"The crime lord's name was Verdigris."

Pieces in Weltraum's head began to click, as they fell to their places. He knew exactly where he knew that name and where Rust was going with his story. He cursed his luck.

"For the longest time we did not know, what happened to our friends. But you see, in the file it said that Verdigris had a small number of mercenaries acting as bodyguards. They were lead by you."

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><p><strong>If you likedhated/want more please comment and critique! Everything helps!**


	4. Chapter 3 - Showdown

**A/N: A bit longer chapter, but not as long as it was originally. **Hopefully the next chap wont take as long. **The fighting scene was a bitch to write. Please enjoy.**

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><p>Chapter 3 - Showdown<p>

Time: [1.09: PM]  
>Location: [City of Vale, Beacon Academy, Dueling class]<p>

The class was filled with cheers, as two students battled against each other. The rapier, quick and precise, tried to thrust and penetrate the spear's defences but was easily staved off. She was parried, sometimes stopped with a shield. The spear user knew how to utilise his weapon's length and using wide sweeps, kept her opponent at an optimal distance. Though the rapier tried to find the angles, from which her opponent wouldn't be able to guard, the foot work of the spear user made it hard. Even the glyphs that accelerated and diversified her movements, seemed to be of no use. The crowd was going wild as the battle was going on, all eyes were tightly focused on the two fighters, except Weltraum's.

Weltraum had been absent-minded since this morning's heart-to-heart with Rust. He had originally hoped to reach some kind of understanding with them, to make his stay in Beacon much easier, for both him and the huntsmen, but apparently, that was not going to happen. His past actions had come to haunt him in the worst possible moment and he was at a loss for words. In their eyes he had done something unforgivable, and he was in no position to argue or explain, as he would most certainly only make the situation worse.

The huntsmen had kept silence since after breakfast and while Rust seemed to be back to his old self, Vermillion seemed gloomier than normal. Not that Weltraum could see his face under the hood, but he could feel his irritation in the air and in his impatient movements. He was sitting between the two, as he usually did, and it felt excruciating. For every second that passed, he could breathe in a little less. He felt like he was suffocating, pressured hard from each side by their cold, unwavering presence.

A rapier was flung through the air and hit the floor with a metallic clang, startling Weltraum. He shifted his focus on the stage where the battle had ended.

"Winner, Pyrrha Nikos" Glynda Goodwitch announced, accompanied with a roar from the crowd. She then began to analyze the match; "Miss Schnee, good use of glyphs and understanding what you were up against, yet you still remain easily readable. Try attacking in a way your opponent doesn't expect. Straight forward and proud are good qualities, but not always in a battlefield." She concluded.

"Yes, professor Goodwitch. I'll try to remember that." She answered, as she picked up her weapon.

"Miss Nikos, I noticed your improved foot work. Excellent mix of defending and attacking once again."

"Thank you, professor." Pyrrha said and proceeded to walk back to her seat with Weiss.

"I almost got you from behind." Weiss pointed out bitterly.

"Yes you did, but you used the same maneuver last week." Pyrrha remarked.

"I'll defeat you one day, believe me." She said proud.

"I believe you." Pyrrha said with all honesty.

Miss Goodwitch kept talking about efficient combat tactics and the classroom calmed down a bit. Student's were still excited about the previous match, still talking and arguing about it.

"That was awesome." Nora exclaimed, eyes glimmering with excitement. "Jaune, wanna go next?" She asked her team leader.

"Nora, people have their expectations after a fight. I can't top something like that." He said worried.

"Maybe not yet, Jaune. But you'll get there. I know it." Pyrrha assured.

Nora giggled and zoomed next to Jaune, putting her hand around his shoulder. "We are a team silly, what you lack, I compensate. Just stand there and let me smack you around. I'll make it glorious." She took her arm around him and mimicked an explosion with her hands.

This made Jaune even more worried. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"C'mon Jaune, what's the worst thing that could happen?" She smiled widely.

"You going berserk and wrecking the whole classroom again." Ren pointed out dryly.

"Once, Ren! Once!" She cried, posing overly dramatic.

Miss Goodwitch finished up her after fight monologue with a piece comprising of understanding and reading your opponent. She then announced; "Next pair up, any volunteers?" The crowd murmured.

Yang stood up, signalling her willingness. "I'm in."

"Miss Xia Long, you are always up for a fight, aren't you?" She shook her head.

"Yes, I am" She said smiling, while walking down the stairs to the middle of the room. She took her place in front of the professor.

"And who will be fighting against, Miss Xia Long?"

If there had been any eagerness or willingness to participate in the audience before, it was gone. Usually when her name came up as a combatant, not many wanted to fight her. She was known to be one fierce fighter, that not many could face with their pride intact.

"If there is no volunteers, they will be picked by me." Miss Goodwitch said sternly.

"How about the new guy?!" Cardin Winchester of team CRDL shouted from back of the class.

"Yeah, he's been bragging all week! It's about time someone kicked his noble ass!" Yelled Cardin's green team mate next to him.

Rest of team CRDL laughed in agreement. Everyone knew who they meant. People in the classroom seemed to like the idea of not having to go themselves and at the same time kicking the new student off his high horse. Nodding and voices of acceptance filled the crowd.

The professor fixed her sight on the young man between the huntsmen. "Mister Schwarz. How has your stay with us been so far."

Weltraum stood up and spoke. "It has been, for lack of a better word, exciting. The people here are fun, they speak what's on their mind unlike in Atlas. The change is welcome."

"That's good. Would you be willing to participate?"

"Only if I'm allowed."

To the people in the room that sounded arrogant, but the truth was that it was a question that needed to be asked.

Professor Goodwitch addressed the huntsmen. "You don't mind if we borrow him for a second?"

Rust looked doubtful. "Is that safe?" The question was not about Weltraum's safety even though the other student's thought so.

"Of course. As long as I am here no student will be hurt during these classes." She addressed the huntsmen.

This seemed to reassure Rust and he nodded in agreement. The young man weaved his way from back of the class in front of the professor, rolling the sleeves of his sweater.

"Oh, I should mention. My weapon got misplaced as I transferred here. So I will be fighting unarmed. Is that okay?"

"If you think you can manage. Yang, you have anything to say against?"

"Nope, as long as you don't disappoint me." She winked at him.

"I won't" Weltraum said with confidence.

Student's laughed in their seats while few grumbled. "He's gonna get wrecked."

"Yeah, he thinks he can fight bare handed against Yang."

"Or he is just arrogant."

"Or stupid."

"Go Yang! Kick his ass!"

"Yeah! Kick his ass 'till it's grass."

"Dude, no one says that anymore."

"Rest in pieces, new guy." The female student made a cross with her hands.

Weltraum observed his surroundings and listened. His opponent was named Yang and she was a capable fighter, according to the student's. But he was confident in his own skills, even without his weapon. He filled his lungs with air and fully exhaled, preparing himself for the fight.

"You know the rules?" Miss Goodwitch asked from the young man.

"Yes. Sparring match. First to drop his opponent's aura to red, wins."

Yang had brought her fist straight up in front of her, offering a fist bump. "Good luck."

Weltraum ignored her offer and stepped few steps back, raising his hands up and widening his stance a bit, showing his readiness.

"Okay." She said lowering her hand. She took few steps back too and took her own stance. Her Ember Celica transformed into their assault form with a few clicks and a whirs.

Miss Goodwitch verified both to be ready and stepped back to observe. "Begin."

Yang instantly rushed within striking distance in under a second. She tried to hit her still opponent with a heavy right straight, but Weltraum stepped in, dodging the blow. She did not expect him to get closer and Weltraum quickly kicked her left knee, forcing her to kneel and delivered a rising elbow to her chin. This staggered and pushed Yang back and she tried to defend, but he drove his heel into her upper chest with a fast side kick. She was sent flying across the room, finally hitting the floor with a 'thump' and sliding across it for a few meters.

Weltraum turned to speak with the audience smiling slightly complacent."As Professor Goodwitch explained earlier today, reading your opponent is important. I took notice of miss Xia Longs choice of weapons, her gauntlets and determined her to be an extreme close ranged fighter, most likely to be specialized to striking." He said playfully, knowing it would grind the gears of the audience. "Since she had her weapon, she thought the safest approach would be the close the distance and overpower me, but..."

Two shotgun shots sounded in the room and before Weltraum could react, a yellow gauntlet impacted into his temple. It fired again and ejected him into the air spinning.

In the meanwhile he had been talking, Yang had recovered. She had got up and launched herself with her gauntlets at great speed towards the young man and attacked fiercely.

The force of the punch was great, as it flew him across the room. His body came to stop at the opposite wall, hitting back first and upside down, denting it. He slid along the wall and landed head first into the floor. The crowd exploded into cheers for the blonde boxer. Members of team CRDL bursted out laughing and so did few others.

"Ooh, that must hurt." Jaune winced.

"I kind a feel bad for the guy, you should not hold your punches against someone like Yang." Pyrrha said.

"Go Yang!" Ruby cheered gleefully.

Yang smirked. "Professor Goodwitch also has reminded us multiple times to check our scrolls to see our and our opponent's aura levels. Being alert is as important as reading your opponent."

For a few seconds Weltraum did not move. Professor Goodwitch began to worry and she checked her scroll. Yang's aura had dropped less than a tenth of her total, while Weltraum's had dropped about the same, even though the attack he had sustained seemed to be way more powerful. After a few seconds, Weltraum flopped to his back and sat up, rubbing his neck and groaning.

"Come on, you're not done yet, are you?" Yang asked playfully and readied her stance again.

He rose up. "Okay, the kiddie gloves come off." His playfulness, unlike Yang's, was gone. His eyes were serious, with a hint of something intimidating. He started to slowly walk back to the middle, while Yang waited without attacking. He quickened his step, until he came to a sprint, closing the gap and began his attack again, but with greater intensity.

He kicked fast and accurately but either missed or was parried. He had underestimated her, but he wasn't going to let it happen again. He mixed jukes with his kicks, attacking from weird angles, switching between kicks and strikes. It was effective as he got few hit in, but her guard with her gauntlets proved to be too hard to penetrate without a weapon of some sort.

Yang on the other hand seemed to have fun, as she was smiling constantly. She attacked, feinting a punch herself. Weltraum fell for it and she was able to hit him in the head with a backhand strike directly from above. It was strong, making him slam the floor hard, crack it and bounce back because of the force. Their eyes met while he was in the air, where Yang struck him again with a strong uppercut to the chin. He flew up and then landed to his back. Weltraum groaned and was struggling to get up.

"You've been doing pretty well without your weapon." Yang complimented him. "But as you see, you should give up about now."

This condescending tone enraged him. He was losing to this girl younger than him and it irritated him to no end. He could not defeat her in hand-to-hand combat right now, not without his weapon, but martial arts was not the only tool in his arsenal.

She walked towards the young man and stopped couple of meters in front of him, laying her left hand on her side. "When we first met, you were really confident in your skills. I really hoped you would satisfy me." She said, sounding disappointed.

He rose up suddenly and looked deep in her eyes. "Then allow me to satisfy your interest." He brought his open hand forward and said; "Yang."

Yang's screams echoed in the class room.

* * *

><p><strong>Please comment and critique, as it will help me grow as a writer. Also please be grammar nazis.<strong>


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